What does Ethical Sourcing mean?
Conducting business in an environmentally and socially responsible manner has long been an integral part of Hyde Park’s commitment to our stakeholders. We are joined by an increasing number of industry partners throughout our supply chain, who believe that by working together, our industry can affect real change.
Conflict-Free Diamonds
Diamonds are meant to be a gift of love, and we at Hyde Park Jewelers abhor the way in which some gems have been used to fund conflict. To prevent the sale of conflict diamonds, governments, our industry and human-rights groups created the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) in 2002, which today regulates 99% of the worldwide rough diamond supply.
We require all of our suppliers to provide us with a written warranty, stating that their diamonds come from Kimberley-certified sources and are not involved in funding conflict. The warranty statement, which was officially recognized at the creation of the Kimberley Process, reads:
“The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with the United Nations Resolutions. The seller hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the suppliers of these diamonds.”
Responsible Gold Sourcing
Hyde Park Jewelers is fully committed to the responsible sourcing of gold and other minerals that make their way into our jewelry products. Whenever possible, we procure recycled metals (including gold, platinum and sterling silver) to use in repairs and manufactured pieces. We believe gold should only be extracted and processed in a manner that respects the needs of people and the earth.
We strongly believe in the goals of the conflict minerals law, which Congress passed as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in order to target conflict minerals, including gold, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and surrounding region. Hyde Park Jewelers fully condemns the use of any minerals to fund conflict in the DRC, in its adjoining countries or anywhere in the world. To increase adoption of these practices across our industry, we encourage our business partners to also adhere to the same responsible business practices.
With that in mind, we actively ask our suppliers to affirm to us, in writing, their commitment to the responsible sourcing of gold and do not conduct business with manufacturers who do not meet our standards for ethical sourcing of materials. We believe a commitment to responsible gold must include suppliers, to ensure that responsible practices are addressed at every point in the supply chain. Without the engagement of all segments of our industry, retailers’ individual pledges to source responsibly will not be meaningful.
We strongly support the efforts of our trade association, Jewelers of America (JA), to collectively ensure good practices at every level of the supply chain. JA actively participates in and supports initiatives such as the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), the Diamond Development Initiative International (DDII), and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). We are therefore very much involved in, not only ensuring we understand the issues as they stand, but in helping to resolve them.
Responsible Mining
Hyde Park Jewelers is supportive of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) in establishing a voluntary system of environmental, human rights and social standards for mining operations. By working collaboratively, this diverse group of stakeholders works to develop a consensus-based, third-party certification standard for responsible mining.
Statement on Hard Rock Mining
Hyde Park Jewelers actively opposes inappropriate mine development on environmentally and culturally sensitive lands. We support legislation to assist in cleaning up abandoned hardrock mines. We agree with many in the environmental community, the mining industry and Congress that an overhaul of the federal mining law is long overdue. Hyde Park also understands that achieving mining law reform will require hard work, negotiation, compromise and creativity in a public, transparent process.
We believe that mining on our public lands should be a privilege and must be carefully measured against alternative uses, including recreation and conservation. Most importantly, we recognize that some public lands are simply not suitable for mining, and that their value for recreation and conservation is far greater than their value as a source of minerals.